Priyank Kharge during the press conference regarding the BENGALURU GAFX – event in the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) sector.

The Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) industry is no longer just about entertainment, but it has become a key driver of technological innovation, employment, and economic expansion, said Priyank Kharge, Minister for the Departments of Electronics, IT and BT, and Rural Development & Panchayat Raj here on Tuesday.

Karnataka has over 300 AVGC-XR studios, employing more than 15,000 professionals and these studios are creating high-quality content that is making a significant impact in the global media and entertainment industry. India has over 4,000 AVGC-XR studios, with more than 100 contributing to Hollywood and international projects.

Mufasa

Highlighting the importance of Bengaluru in terms of AVGC-XR outsourcing, the Minister said the majority, over 80%, of animation and graphics work for the Hollywood movie Mufasa: The Lion King was done by teams in the city. The movie already made over $700 million globally in collections.

Commenting on the State’s leadership in AVGC-XR sector, he said, the State accounted for 20% of India’s media and entertainment industry. “We aim to create 50,000 high-quality jobs in the AVGC-XR sector by 2028,’‘ said the Minister.

According to Mr. Kharge, the global AVGC-XR market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 30-40% from now to 2030 to breach the $400 billion mark. 5G adoption, metaverse (comprising extended reality, augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality) development, and growing adoption by enterprises are the key drivers of this sector.

He said the AVGC-XR market in the country was expected to grow at a CAGR of 25-30% from 2023 to 2030, to reach $26 billion. Adoption of AR/VR was growing in sectors like education, healthcare, real estate, and retail, he noted.

Job creation

India’s AVGC-XR sector currently employs some 1.85 lakh professional directly and over 30,000 indirectly. By 2030, the industry was projected to generate an additional 20 lakh jobs, presenting vast opportunities for young professionals, the minister added.

Mr. Kharge announced that Karnataka will hold its GAFX 2025, the AVGC-XR Conference between February 27 and March 1, 2025. Over 20,000 AVGC-XR industry experts, movie makers and policy makers from India and abroad are expected to attend this three-day event.

“GAFX 2025 will have 50 sessions at an India expo in which 12 states will participate. This show will be the single biggest AVGC-XR show across every facet of future intelligence redefining storytelling,’‘ said Biren Ghose, Chairman, Bengaluru GAFX and President, ABAI.